Goodbye Oasis!

I knew I wanted to have some time to say goodbye to the children at Oasis, but it was a little tricky to plan since I didn’t know when I would be leaving. Finally that last week, we just picked a day and made that the “Goodbye Party”. I had Harriet make some of her delicious cakes for the children and then I bought juice boxes them too.

We waited as the children came home from school. Some of the older ones don’t get home until about 5:30, so we had to wait around for awhile, but the children entertained us with lots of singing and dancing as we waited. I could sit and watch them sing and dance forever. I tried to get them to take a break a few times, but they said they were having fun and did not want to stop.


Even Baby Moses joined in the drumming.

 

Mercy joining in the fun.




We even got to see some "robot".

Finally most of the children had gathered and Pastor Robert showed up with even more surprises! A couple in Uganda volunteering at an orphanage heard about Oasis and wanted to help. They bought them some new mattresses, three new sets of triple bunk beds, and some other surprises. The kids were thrilled. It was fun to see their reactions.

Then I cut the cake and passed it out. I have no idea the last time that the kids had cake, but they devoured it. I could not cut fast enough. At first the mother in me wanted to make them slow down and only eat one small piece. Then I remembered what a special treat this was for them and how bland and sparse the normal diet is, so I let them dig in. I think both cakes were gone in about 5 minutes.



All Gone!

Then I said a few words to them and promised the children that I would continue to help them in the days ahead and that I would do my best to come back and see them again. I also promised to send more friends to visit them, so if you are going to Uganda and would like to stop by let me know. I also had some extra treats left behind by the Libraries of Love team, so they each got a pencil, sticker, and sucker . And as you can see from the photos, the Libraries of Love team also brought many “I Love VBS” shirts from my friend Kim’s church. So they proudly sported those for the occasion too.



Thumbs Up for Oasis.



Working on silly faces.

My friend, Billy, is working on getting deworming medicine and HIV screenings for all of the children. He’s also overseeing a few other projects there as well. I am working with my friend who initially sent me to Oasis and the board from “The Hope Venture”, the non-profit I am working with on this project, on long term plans for our relationship with Oasis. Pray for a clear direction and be on the lookout for more information on how you can help.

A few donations are still trickling in. My sister Stephanie’s children decided they wanted to help. They made bracelets and then sold them to people in their neighborhood. I think they’ve raised close to $100. I love to see kids that “get it” and are willing to work to help others. What a blessing!